Media Release Detail

Daniel Andrews Fails to Deliver Ambulance Performance Targets

Monday, August 01, 2016

The Premier made election commitments to improve ambulance performance.
More than a year into his leadership, data released today has revealed a
failure by the Premier to deliver on his commitments.

On all measures ambulance performance has declined compared to both last
quarter and the equivalent quarter 12 months ago.

Proportion of ambulance patient transfers within 40 minutes

i.e. total time from ambulance arrival at the hospital to the physical
transfer of the patient and handover of care to hospital staff.

Result for June 2015
quarter
87.3%

Result for March 2016
quarter
88.1%

Result for June 2016
quarter
84.9%

Code 1 first response performance – statewide

Result for June 2015 quarter
12.49
minutes

Result for March 2016 quarter
13.01 minutes

Result for June 2016
quarter
13.07 minutes

Code 2 first response performance - statewide

Result for June 2015
quarter
28.13 minutes

Result for March 2016
quarter
28.09 minutes

Result for June 2016
quarter
29.18 minutes

At the Public Accounts and Estimates (PAEC) hearing in May this year,
the committee heard that Code 2 response times will deteriorate while Ambulance
Victoria focuses on achieving Code 1 performance targets.

What we have seen today is a dramatic drop in Code 2 performance (for
‘acute and time sensitive patients’), while Code 1 performance deteriorated as
well.

Code 1 response time - by LGA

Performance deteriorated in 46 out of 79 LGAs (58%) since the last
quarter.

Performance deteriorated in 52 out of 79 LGAs (66%) compared to the same
quarter 12 months ago.

What Daniel Andrews used to say about ambulance response times:

“Ambulance response times are worse than ever and people are
dying. Labor will end the ambulance crisis because nothing matters more
than the health of our loved ones.”

Source: Daniel Andrews media release, 24/11/2014

“save the seconds that save lives.”

Source: Herald Sun 03/12/2014

Quotes Attributed to Mary Wooldridge MP, Shadow Minister for Health:

Before the election Daniel Andrews said: ‘We can’t have a situation
where we ever settle for ambulance response times at 23, 24, 44 minutes –
that’s not what’s acceptable in 2014.’

But as Premier, Daniel Andrews has failed to improve ambulance response
times by any meaningful amount.